Re: Tapering Clonazepam (w/response)

[Guest guest]

Dear -

Before this last cut I was taking B Complex, Vitamin D, Calcium, Carlson fish

oil, vitamin C and Red Yeast Rice. My system hasn¹t been stable enough

( without nausea or diarrhea) to take supplements for a week because of the last

cut. Now I¹m working with a Naturopath and will gradually phase in the

following supplements made by Designs for Health. Vitamin D, Omega HI po,

Bioglycozyme forte, Osteo B2, RYR synergy, inositol and GES. He is working with

my intestinal system which has been very sensitive. I will take the magnesium

as soon as I can tolerate it. The magnesium I have is by Source Naturals.

I was asking about the Valium because of Dr. Ashton¹s report. Working

with a new doctor and pharmacist on these cuts is a challenge.

I eat chicken (free range without antibiotics etc.) and wild fish. I buy local

organic vegetables. In addition I have potatos, rice or humus for starch. I

stick to organic fruits.

My last cut was March 6 and I won¹t be ready for another one for at least a

couple of weeks. My life seems to be dominated by these cuts.

I have the appointment with the doctor this Thursday about the next cut. Is

there any way to talk to you before then? I know it¹s really short notice, but

I thought I¹d try. I feel so nervous about this next cut and really want to get

off these drugs ASAP. Never again.

Again, Thanks So Much,

Sherry>>

** I'll hold off commenting much until we talk. Let me know your

availability on Wed. and your time zone. I'll see if we can make something

work. Contact me privately at:

catherine.creel@ gmail.com (close the space between the @ and gmail.com).

For the sake of others:

-- Red Yeast Rice acts the same as a statin drug ( " cholesterol reducing),

depleting CoQ10, and should not be taken. Often imported from China, it has been

found at times to contain heavy metals or drugs at times.

-- RYR Synergy also has Red Yeast Rice in it so this was a double dose.

-- Bioglycozyme forte has various bovine organ substances (brain, adrenal,

pancreas, liver, pituitary/hypothalamus) from calves less than a month old.

There is no credible evidence that this would be helpful in any way and has also

been found at times to contain heavy metals and pharmaceutical drugs.

-- Inositol -- works for about 60% of people to reduce various symptoms like

depression, anxiety, OCD, and high cortisol. Some finf it over-stimulating while

others find it relaxing. I posted info on who can take inositol and who can't in

2004. I'll re-post this.

GES -- topical progesterone. Should be taken ONLY if tested as being deficient

in progesterone. Should be tested every 3 mos. as this product tends to remain

in tissues for an extended period of time.

Regards,

I hope you¹re feeling a lot better now.

I need some guidance on how to proceed from where I am now. I was given .5 mg

of Clonazepam last September. I¹ve been gradually tapering, but seem to lose

about 2 days of life from nausea each time I try a cut. I¹m now at

..15mg. When I cut from .25 mg to .2 I had one day of heavy anxiety and 2 days

of nausea. Then I cut from .2 to .17 and had about the same reaction. So I

tried .17 to .15 and again I had the bad nausea. >>

** Unless the nausea is unbearable, 2 days for that and one for anxiety is to be

expected. There's no way to do it with no reaction. These drugs cause

unnatural changes in chemistry and brain structure so there is no way to do this

symptom-free. Anyone who says you can is misinformed or trying to sell

something.

Sherry writes:

<<I¹m taking 300mg of Avapro, 100 mg of progesterone and a .5 mg patch of

estradial. I¹m really eating healthy organic food. I¹ve cut the supplements

for now. I took 3 weeks between each cut ­ should I take more time? Should I

switch to Valium and cut on that? I¹m really confused on how I should proceed.

>>

** Why would you cut out the supplements? What supplements and doses were you

taking?

As far as 3 weeks between decreases, I'm sure you've read that I tell people

it's not about counting the time between decreases. The only true way to do it

is to listen to your body. When you feel as well or better than you felt prior

to the cut is the only time the next cut should be done. If you can't say you're

now as well or better than right before the decrease, you're not ready for the

decrease.

I'd have to know more about you before I would know if switching to Valium would

be in your best interests.

Sherry writes:

<<Should I have a private appointment with you? I have an appointment with my

doctor on Thursday and I¹d like to give her guidance on how to proceed ­ but I

don¹t know how.

I would appreciate anything you can tell me.

Sherry>>

** An appointment serves you well in that much more ground is covered and

protocols for drug reduction are tailored to the individual. I always recommend

that anyone on other medications take this route because some surprising things

can come up with these drugs during reductions. Also, some supplements can be

very helpful during this time.

The statement " I¹m really eating healthy organic food " is one that doesn't tell

me much. People have very different ideas on what constitutes " healthy " .

For now, I'd strongly recommend adding magnesium 3x a day. You can get

Gillham's CALM Magnesium or NOW brand powdered magnesium. Vitacost has good

prices and inexpensive shipping. This way you can titrate the dose and take a

bot during anxious times. You could begin with 500 mg a day in split doses.

I'm sure I could reduce the nausea but have to get a thorough description of it.

I retitled this post so it would reflect the content making it useful in the

archives. Everyone should keep subjects relevant to the email. Thanks.

Regards,